There's more than a little bit of Tesla talk in Ford's announcement on Aug. 11, that it would invest $2 billion to retrofit its Louisville Assembly Plant to make a small electric pickup in 2027. It's a bold, ambitious plan that's equal parts going after Chinese competition, heating up leftover Tesla ideas and taking advantage of the scale of a massive global automaker. 

Pieces of the plan touch on multiple aspects of the manufacturing industry that we care about at Endeavor B2B's Manufacturing Group -- safety/ergonomics, manufacturing procedures, casting technologies and what the vehicle factory of the future might look like.

IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger, who spent four years earlier in his career writing about the Ford plant for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, discusses Ford's plans, where it's fudging the numbers a bit and how it hopes to create a new manufacturing paradigm in Kentucky, with a little help from Ford executives and engineers who spoke at the investment announcement.

When a forged part is labeled “capable of ASTM A388,” what does that really mean? And more importantly, what does it not mean? In this episode, we break down the difference between a part that could theoretically pass ultrasonic testing and one that’s actually been tested. We’ll look at why that difference matters in industries where safety and reliability are critical, explore common internal defects in forgings, and explain why proper surface preparation is key to accurate ultrasonic inspection. If you’d like to dive deeper into the details, you can read the full article here: https://www.newequipment.com/55279288

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. In this episode, Joe shares his leadership experience on turning maintenance mistakes into learning experiences.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Robert Brooks explores three key developments in non-ferrous metallurgy that promise to reshape industrial manufacturing. The discussion highlights breakthrough research from the Pacific Northwest and Ames National Laboratories, including advances in solid-phase alloying of aluminum scrap and the discovery of a new multi-element alloy for high-temperature turbine applications. Robert also examines Arconic’s collaboration with spectroscopy experts to enhance real-time analysis of molten metals. Together, these innovations point to a future where metallurgical progress drives both performance and sustainability across sectors.

Rocky Rowlett, vice president of safety, and Alyssa Kwasny, wellness program director, explain how their energy and construction firm, Faith Technologies Inc., has become an exemplar of world-class safety excellence by developing a culture of care.

The problem sounds so simple: Manufacturers need large numbers of new employees to replace retiring Baby Boomers. Lots of Millennial and Gen Z young people want good jobs

One reason why the sides aren't connecting, workforce watchers say, is that young people are often unaware of the opportunities being offered in factories and job shops nationwide. At least one plant is addressing that. 

International Motors' commercial truck plant in San Antonio, Texas, has been working with greater:SATX, the city's economic development organizations, to encourage high school students to intern and the recently opened manufacturing facility. Several of those recent high school grads have since taken full-time positions at International. 

Hear more about the program from students-turned employees, International's leadership team and from the people who are training and worth with those young people.

Industry 4.0 is still a vague term to many in manufacturing. To some, it’s projects that fit the strict standards of the German consortium that developed the term. For others, it’s synonymous with Industrial Internet of Things connectivity – systems that draw data from machines to optimize processes.

Most agree, however, that it’s a tech thing. Industry 4.0 advocates talk about the need to manage workers differently, but the thrust of the movement is machine learning, data collection, data-based decision modeling and data-driven process improvement.

So, where do people have a say? To Sarah Tilkens, a former GE Healthcare lean guru who now runs the KPI Lab, that’s why we need Industry 5.0.

“The problem (with Industry 4.0) is with the focus so much on productivity and efficiency. People became really, really burned out and disengaged,” Tilkens said. “So, a lot of the systems became very rigid. They weren’t as flexible. They weren’t as creative. And I think that’s what led to… Industry 5.0, which again is all around human led innovation.”

Tilkens shared her thoughts with IndustryWeek editor Jill Jusko, someone who’s spent 25 years writing about continuous improvement and operational excellence.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Thomas Wilk, chief editor of Plant Services, sits down for a roundtable discussion with:

The discussion explores the evolution from isolated maintenance efforts to a unified, data-driven strategy that emphasizes standardization, training, and cross-regional collaboration. This episode offers practical insights for anyone navigating the complexities of reliability at scale.

Joining Smart Industry’s Scott Achelpohl for this episode is Rajeev Shah, co-founder and CEO of Celona, who helps explain how manufacturers can overcome “legacy” infrastructure challenges—particularly their older OT—to harness the potential of AI-driven operations.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Rosemary Coates, executive director of the Reshoring Institute, shares insights on how companies are navigating the changing business environment and reshoring trends in 2025.